African-American Studies

Question 1
Domestic violence takes many forms- physical abuse, economic control, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and psychological abuse.  In physical abuse, abusers use various methods to inflict pain such as hitting, kicking, slapping, burning, pushing and strangulation one of the commonest method of physical abuse among intimate partners that often results in homicide.  In economic abuse, the abusive partner often tries to limit their partner from accessing help. They use various methods to control finances such as credit cards withholding, deny partner the freedom to work and deny them basic needs or make them work by force. Sometimes the abusive partner sabotages their partners job.  Psychological abuse is either non-verbal or verbal. The abusers goal is to erode their partners confidence and self esteem such that they cannot bring themselves to leave the relationship. This form of abuse entails yelling, intimidation, name-calling, and threats to unleash violence (What is Domestic Violence, n.d.).

Question 2
Domestic violence is prevalent across races. However, in American the black woman faces higher levels of domestic violence. It is also surprising to note that the black woman is less likely to leave her abuse relationship than her white female counterpart is. This can be explained by how the black woman perceives domestic violence in her community. The issue of domestic violence is not a major concern. Thus, the black woman is more likely to stay in an abusive relationship because issues of domestic violence are not recognized thus she would have no good excuse to leave her marriage. On the other hand, the white woman is more likely to leave an abusive relationship because domestic violence is an issue in her community.

Question 3
Black women who undergo through domestic violence are viewed as loose women due to ethno sexual stereotype. The black women are often considered as angry hence deserve the kind of treatment they get from men.  The black woman is seen as undeserving of mercy or help and thus nobody will be concerned when she is battered. It is assumed she must have done something wrong that provoked the man who unleashes violence towards her (Jordan, n.d.).

Question 4
In the book, Color Purple Walker talks about domestic violence.  The character Celie is raped by her father who impregnates her and when she gives birth, he takes the baby away from her when he threatens to kill it. Thus, she goes through sexual abuse and psychological abuse when he threatens to kill her child born out of incest.  During the rape, the father chokes her. She is also beaten after church as her father suspects her of looking at a boy and these acts shows the physical abuse that Celie goes through. He forces her to marry and insults her claiming she is too old and should get out of his house.

Question 5
The black male should be educated to respect the women in his life and treat them kindly. The fathers should begin by stopping violence against their wives to avoid becoming bad roles models to their children. On the poverty issue, they should work harder to stay in school to increase employability. The government, churches and other organizations should work hand in hand to end poverty among the blacks to curb the problem of domestic violence, which is closely tied to poverty.

Question 6
Violence begets violence. Thus, should be avoided at all cost. Instead of abusing, a spouse because things are not working well for someone like in the case of a man earning less than a woman the man should look for ways to improve himself such as going back to school to earn more. Violence should be stopped because it leads to family break ups and causes  a lot of psychological trauma to its victims.